Mock Bullfights Okd For Carnival

A Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday that mock bullfights could be staged this weekend at a carnival on the West Side as long as no one harms the bulls and the bulls harm no one.

Judge Albert Green ordered the city to grant a permit to Jaass Productions Inc. for the simulated ``bullfights.``

A lawsuit filed by Jaass Productions said Peter Poholik, executive director of the city`s Commission on Animal Care and Control, had decided Wednesday that bulls and matadors with red capes could not be used at the carnival. The carnival operators said they had earlier paid for and received a city carnival license.

Sam Alvarado, president of Jaass, said in the suit that the bullfights are part of a Hispanic cultural exhibition to be held over the Labor Day weekend.

The carnival will be held at 27th Street and Washtenaw Avenue.

Marilyn Johnson, deputy city corporation counsel, said state law forbids bullfights, and a city ordinance forbids any event in which ``animals are incited to fight or any simulation thereof.``

The suit argued that the city permits rodeos and circuses and contended that in the simulated bullfights, the bulls will be ``treated in a safer and more humane manner than the animals in those other types of events.``

The suit also said no weapons would be used against the bulls and they would not be harmed.

Green ruled that because the city allows rodeos and circuses, the ordinance banning simulated animal fights was ``vague and unenforceable,``